The last eight months have been a harrowing period for Rafael Nadal. After suffering from tendinitis in his knee last July, the former World No 1 was subsequently struck down with a stomach virus a fortnight before the Australian Open.
The Spaniard would have been forgiven if he had taken time to get back to some vestige of form on his return to the tennis court.
But the World No 4 has made a storming start since he returned on February 5th at the Chile Open. In the 19 games since his comeback he has won all but one – at the Chile final – winning tournaments on his favoured clay in Brazil and Mexico, while he also claimed the title at the hard courts of Indian Wells – his first Masters tournament in ten months.
Those titles included victories over World No 5 David Ferrer, eternal rival Roger Federer, Tomas Berdych and 2009 US Open Champion Juan Martin Del Potro.
Nadal will be absent at the Miami Masters but after that tournament it is the continuation of the clay court season and the build up to the French Open which he has won seven times – a record in the Open era.
Already building up a head of steam just a six weeks into his return, Nadal has four clay court tournaments to really stamp his authority on his rivals before Rolland Garros which suggests that barring a major upset, he will comfortably retain the upcoming Grand Slam.
But despite his own good form and beating Federer, Nadal has yet to face the form players on the ATP Tour – Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray.
The next opportunity will come in Monte Carlo and how he performs against those the World No 1 to No 3 and that will be a gauge of how far he has come and whether his body can cope at the very highest level.
